Barefoot back on familiar ground at ODU

The next-to-last game of Karen Barefoot's tenure as an assistant women's basketball coach at Old Dominion left an indelible impression.

On March 25, 2008, the Lady Monarchs beat Virginia, 88-85, in overtime to advance to the NCAA tournament Sweet 16.

"That's a moment I'll never forget in my entire life," Barefoot said.

Barefoot, named the Lady Monarchs' new head coach on Wednesday, hopes to create more lasting, winning memories in her return to Norfolk.

"I want to put the best product on the floor," Barefoot said. "I'm excited. I'm ready to go to work and roll my sleeves up and get after it."

Barefoot, an assistant on former ODU coach Wendy Larry's staff for three seasons, re-joins the Lady Monarchs from Elon, where she went 37-58 in three seasons and led that program to a 20-13 record, its best-ever Division result, last year.

Barefoot, a Newport News native and graduate of Menchville High who went on to star at Christopher Newport, said she was contacted about the ODU opening by senior associate athletic director Debbie White, a member of the school's five-person search committee. A day of on-campus interviews and meetings followed, with Barefoot coming away impressed with both ODU president John Broderick and athletic director Wood Selig, who replaced retiring AD Jim Jarrett in July 2010.

"A new era in Lady Monarch basketball begins today with Karen Barefoot as our women's basketball head coach," Selig said in a release. "Karen's energy and enthusiasm, coupled with her successful head coaching record at a relatively young age, is testament to her work ethic and passion for the game."

Barefoot, a 1995 graduate of CNU, has a career head coaching record of 209-144. She coached at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne from 2001 to 2005, earning South Atlantic Conference coach of the year honors in the 2003-04 season, and went 102-43 in six seasons at the Apprentice School, winning the 2001 National Small College Athletic Association title.

As to whether she ever imagined returning to ODU as head coach, "It's really hard to say," Barefoot said. "I'm comfortable with the area. In the back of your mind, you just kind of daydream and think about things. I just think it's a career program and I always thought a lot of and respected the program. I love the people in the area the fans and have a lot of respect for everybody there."

That includes Larry, who resigned last month after leading the Lady Monarchs since 1987. Larry won 599 games at ODU and has a career head coaching record of 608-234, making her just the 20th women's basketball coach to reach 600 wins.

Barefoot said she sent Larry a text message during a whirlwind Wednesday that also included calls to Lady Monarchs players and recruits.

"She knows that I respect her and love her dearly," Barefoot said. "That's really how I feel."

Larry resigned May 17 after Selig declined to renew her contract beyond next season. The Lady Monarchs, who won an NCAA-record 17 consecutive Colonial Athletic Association conference championships from 1991-2008, went 20-11 in Larry's final season, falling in the CAA quarterfinals for the first time.

Barefoot is the sixth head coach in Lady Monarch basketball history.

"Karen Barefoot is an outstanding basketball coach with strong ties to both Old Dominion University and the Hampton Roads community," ODU president John Broderick said in a release.

Barefoot will be officially introduced next Wednesday in a press conference at ODU.

"I can't wait to see everybody when I get back to Norfolk and smile and shake some hands and give some hugs, but at the same time I'm looking forward to bringing in a championship staff," Barefoot said. "I'm really looking forward to growing this team into a championship team, to (the players) getting to know me and my expectations, and letting them know that I expect nothing less than the best.

"That's who I am. I'm very intense. I'm very passionate, (and) I want them to match that intensity."

Barefoot said she will compile a short list of assistant coach candidates in the next few days. She said it's too early to say if any of those candidates will come from Larry's staff.

At CNU, Barefoot became the first player, male or female, in NCAA history to score 2,000 points and record 1,000 assists during her career.

"I just really want to get in here and make everybody proud," Barefoot said. "That's really what I want to do."